


Lucretia Year 30

by epersonae



Series: The Journal-Keeper [12]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Coach Magnus never fails to crack me up, Coworkers - Freeform, pseudo-coffeeshop AU, sportsball, very slightly implied Lupcretia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-11-06 17:24:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11040810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epersonae/pseuds/epersonae
Summary: Lucretia gets some time alone and discovers some new skills.





	1. The Desk

**Author's Note:**

> I was relistening to episode 63, and... Whoops, wrong year number?! Will be editing to fix all that. 
> 
> This is very much a work in progress, as yet no outline but some rough ideas of where I want to go. I feel like the setting of episode 63 has some very interesting opportunities, almost like a modern AU setting, and I think it's about time for Lucretia to start synthesizing her experiences and growing as a person. We'll see where this goes.
> 
> This has Taagnus, Blupjeans, and Magnus/Lucretia as established couples. There may be other things that happen????

Lucretia found her own apartment in the city, only a few minutes walk from the others, but in a very different neighborhood. It was a tiny space with a tiny window that overlooked the massive stone university library. The building was crammed full of students; she’d lived a whole other lifetime, but she still looked like she could be one of them.

It was much smaller, and it would cost her a little more, but for the first time in thirty years, she would be living alone. She left the crates of journals and curios on the Starblaster, bringing just a duffel bag of clothes, her pens and pencils, and a few sundries.

The apartment came with a bed that folded out of the wall and some battered pans and dishes. Magnus went with her to shop for a desk and a chair.

“You know you could stay with us,” he said.

“I know. But I wanted to be close to the university to work.”

He ran his hand over a smooth dark desktop, tapping his fingers.

“What are you planning to work on?”

“Barry and I have talked about combining my narratives with his research, so we’ll probably work on that. And it’s a university. They have a real library. I could spend a whole year on just a single floor!” Her face glowed with excitement. “I might sit in on some classes. The pedagogy sounds very innovative.”

He looked away, spinning a chair on a sort of axle.

“That sounds….”

“I know, probably terribly nerdy.”

“No, it sounds perfect.” He picked up the chair, whose seat was now absurdly too high, and fiddled with the mechanism under the seat for a moment before setting it down again.

“What about you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know yet, really. We already know where the Light is, and I guess Merle has that under control. You know, it’s pretty civilized here? And after that broth we had with the abbess, Taako just keeps going about the food. Really only Lup even gets what he’s talking about.”

She patted his arm. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

He smiled the broad grin she’d come to love so much.

“I think I found just the desk,” he said, pointing across the room. “It looks sturdy, but I think the whole thing folds together! You could take it with.”

He lifted it up for her so she could examine the hinges and pins that held it together.

“This is great, thank you Mags. I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this. Let’s find a simple little chair to go with it.”

_Years later, she would unfold her simple writing desk into the room with the big map and the tank. It wasn’t the desk that everyone thought of as the Director’s desk. It was for her secret work, and it seemed only fitting that it had traveled so far, and that he had been the one who found it for her._


	2. Retrospective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Lucretia try to sum up. They are unable to develop a hypothesis. Davenport provides a listening ear.

Lucretia’s journals and Barry’s logs lay in piles on a big wooden table. A sort of timeline, mostly in Lucretia’s tidy handwriting, covered a chalkboard next to the table. Barry and Lucretia themselves stood on either side of the table, where they had more or less taken over the back corner of the second story of the university library.

They’d been talking through this for days, coming into the library when it opened — Barry carrying a pot of coffee from Lup and a basket of sandwiches from Taako — and working until it closed, long after dark.

Before this world, Barry always worked with Lup or Taako on anything scientific, but the twins were off on some sort of flavor quest. So Lucretia had suggested the two of them look back and try a new analysis. After all, she’d written everything down for thirty-seven years, even if it was a narrative, a story instead of statistics. There had to be something there.

But so far there was nothing. The arrival of the Light: it could be a few moments after them, or several days. The location where the Light landed bore no relationship to where they appeared, or the kind of creatures or arrangement of continents or level of civilizations on the prime material of the planar system. Even the nature of the dimensions where they found themselves. No periodicity that either of them could find, no pattern at all.

The only constant: that they arrived somewhere, the Light also arrived, then the scouts, and that a year after the Light arrived, then also the Hunger. And the behavior of the Hunger, it was perfectly constant, but they could tell nothing about it from that constancy.

“Nothing better than random chance,” said Barry, for at least the fifth time. She sighed.

“Maybe. Maybe it’s on a time scale that we haven’t yet experienced,” she said. “Or maybe we just haven’t seen it yet. Do you want to take a break?”

“Break, no break — there’s nothing here we can use!” He slammed a piece of chalk down on the table and it broke in half.

She bit her lip and looked down at the pile of pages between them. Lup would have known what to say, how to defuse him. She did it so effortlessly. With Lup his excitement always seemed positive; their intelligence crackled against each other. She felt like she was just placating him, and now she didn’t know what to say at all.

Instead she sipped at her coffee, which had gone cold. Then she felt a wave of relief, and embarrassment at being relieved, at the sight of Davenport.

“Oh, this is fascinating,” said Davenport, “what are you…” He paused, glancing back and forth at Barry and Lucretia. “Huh. All right then. I was going to…but it can wait. Why don’t you — ” and again he looked from one to the other, “Lucretia, why don’t you walk me through what you’ve got so far?”

She did: every year and every variable they had considered, one at a time. Davenport took one of the sandwiches and slowly ate it, not saying a word, just nodding thoughtfully as she summarized everything they’d discussed so far. As she talked and Davenport ate, Barry seemed to calm down; he sat at one of the other chairs, set down the broken chalk, and started making his own notes as she talked.

When she finished, Davenport was quiet for a while, frowning a bit at the chalkboard. Now it was Barry’s turn to look back and forth between Lucretia and Davenport, while Lucretia had her eyes firmly on the captain.

“This is good work,” he said finally. “It doesn’t look like you have anything conclusive yet, but this is a good foundation. Copy that timeline somewhere where we can all look at it together. Maybe work on some other projects for a bit. In the meantime, both of you have to see what Magnus is up to. It’s… It’s amazing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing has been slow as hell lately, which is partially about Life Stuff, and partially about just being slow. But I've been musing over this professional relationship between Barry and Lucretia, and maybe it'll come back later?


	3. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry seeks out a distraction. Magnus is in his element. Lucretia's a fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a tumblr post where someone wonders about Lucretia coming to the kids' game, and that's basically what got me started with this thing, even if now it's the B plot. 
> 
> Also, I'm now really into this idea of Barry going all Moneyball on these kids...

The park had a rough unkempt look about it: the few trees were spindly and cast hardly any shade on the faded blue grass; the bench that Lucretia, Davenport, and Barry were perched on creaked ominously anytime any of them moved, and the hoops at either end of the field in front of them tilted at slightly different angles.

In the center of the dusty field, Magnus towered over a cluster of children, who looked oddly tired and sad. They wore mismatched and ill-fitting uniforms, all with the word “Losers” hand-lettered on the backs. Three parents sat on the bench across from them. One was reading a book; another had an infant in a sling, which they bounced lethargically as the baby whimpered.

Magnus held the oblong ball high above his head in one hand. With the other, he brought a whistle to his lips. When he blew it, all of the kids let out startled shrieks and shouts, but they also all looked up at him expectantly, maybe nervously.

“I’m going to throw,” he said, “and one of you better catch.” Then he drew his arm back and flung the ball far across the field, almost to the hoop. The dozen and a half kids took off in chase at wildly different speeds and with a great range of dexterity. They grabbed for it and started chasing each other, shouting, crying, running, and falling down. But Magnus cheered them all on as he ran alongside, trotting back and forth, calling out names of kids, giving them all directions, some of them probably contradictory.

Barry leaned over to ask Davenport, “What is this game even called?”

“Round…? Rounders? I think?”

Lucretia asked, “How did he get roped into coaching?”

Davenport shrugged. “Two days ago he was just goofing off in the park. That mom” -- he nodded towards a half-elf on the sidelines, trying valiantly to keep a pair of toddlers from running onto the field -- “she said their old coach quit? And then?”

“Does he have any idea what he’s doing?” asked Barry.

Davenport just shrugged again. Barry stared intently at the field, the run-down hoops, the little girl bouncing the ball off of another kid’s chest, and Magnus grinning.

“Lucretia, ya think that library has books on rounders strategy?”

“Really, Barry?”

“Sure, why not? Cap’nPort, you in?”

“In for what?”

“A distraction, man. You saw me and Lucretia back there. We’ve got nothing new. We know where the light is; we’re just waiting for Merle -- dammit, _Merle_ \-- to impress some monks.”

Almost in unison, Lucretia and Davenport came to the dwarf’s defense. “Merle knows what he’s doing--” “Don’t you dare--”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll do great,” continued Barry, “but what I’m saying is why not help Magnus coach a bunch of kids in some game none of us have ever heard of?”

Davenport nodded thoughtfully. “I did play intramurals at the academy….”

Barry didn’t wait for Lucretia to answer before running out onto the field -- although he nearly tripped over two different children before he got to Magnus.

“You don’t have to, of course,” said Davenport. “You got a place by yourself for a reason. Besides, I think that university might have something for you.”

She looked out at Magnus running with the ball, trailed by all those kids and Barry.

“I appreciate you saying so.” A pair of gnome kids worked together to throw Magnus off balance, allowing a dwarven girl to tackle him from behind. The ball flew up into the air and somehow landed in Barry’s arms. She smiled fondly. “I think I will come watch the games, though, whatever else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments fuel my soul.


	4. The Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as Lucretia is about to get maudlin about the past, the twin turn up for a change of plans.

As afternoon turned to evening, just before the lamps were lit, Lucretia went downstairs to the cafe on the ground floor of her apartment building. Since it faced onto the same square as the university library, and because it was open into the wee hours, had lots of tables and chairs and excellent food, the cafe was always crowded with students. She wove through the crowd to order a hot, sweet, milky tea, then found a table outside. 

Dusk light shone through gaps between the buildings and cast long shadows across the square. Lucretia took out her journals and started sketching. The scene reminded her of the plaza where they used to get lunch during training, though that place had been brick, mostly, and this was stone. She paused to doodle what she remembered of the old fountain. Thirty years ago -- no, thirty- _one_ years year ago -- she'd tossed a coin into it, wishing for a spot on this team. At that thought, she put down both pencils and switched away from memory, instead, listening in on conversations for a little distraction.

So many conversations at once -- this language was soft and fast and full of words about emotions. Someone breaking up with their partner -- worrying about their mother -- getting excited about art -- practicing a class presentation. She just caught little bits and pieces, not trying to record, instead letting it wash over her. Times like these, she was certain they were doing the best they could; maybe the Hunger would do some damage to this world, but this dimension, it could be saved, and these lives could go on.

Then she spotted a pair of elves carrying enormous bags. She waved at them.

"Taako! Lup!" she called out. 

They turned and waved back, then pivoted and came to her table.

"You've got the journals, but you're not writing?" said Lup.

"We haven't been here," said Taako, "so there's nothing worth writing." He winked at her, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"You've caught me; that's exactly it," she said, slamming the cover closed on her sketches of the lost fountain. "What have you two been up to?"

"There is so much good food in this city, Lucy, you can't even imagine."

"We have been sampling things all day.  _All day._ "

"And meeting chefs, of course."

"Getting the scoop on the farmer's markets, where to score the best spices..." Taako starting pulling jars out of his bag. "Take a whiff of this, bubuleh, it'll knock you on your ass."

She took a deep breath: it was heady and sweet and sharp.

"Huh. Wow. That's really something."

Lup grinned.

"I know, right? We're going to make something new for the gang; you should come along. Everybody would love to see you."

"Yes! Mags -- I mean, the whole gang would be delighted. Plus it'll be even better than anything you could have here."

"I did have a little supper already," she said.

"Doesn't matter; you're coming with us."

He swept all of the jars back into the bag, then stood and took her cup into the cafe.

While he was gone, Lup put a hand over Lucretia's.

"It's not...bad? That I suggested this? Is it?"

Lucretia shook her head. She wasn't even sure why she was hesitating.

Lup glanced up, and withdrew her hand as Taako returned.

"C'mon, m'dudes, let's get this show on the road."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was going to include the actual dinner, but I got excited about a new piece I'm working on, so I'm posting this bit by itself. (This chapter was originally just going to be Lucretia at the cafe, but Lup and Taako just kinda showed up.)


	5. Domes, domes, domes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look who wrote a chapter of an otherwise abandoned fic! There _should_ be a chapter in between here of walking home from dinner with Magnus, but whatever. This chapter is specifically written for the moon/sun day of Magcretia Week. (Which, omg, is something I could not have imagined existing when I first started writing this story!)
> 
> This chapter has two headcanons in one: the Abbess Oriana as an inspiration for Lucretia's demeanor as Madame Director, and Tessaralia as the place where she fell in love with domes.
> 
> Chapter hasn't been edited _at all_ , so there's that.

After the kids had all scattered from game practice, he bounded up to her and looked over her shoulder. She was drawing not in her mission journal but on a pair of separate pieces of paper. As soon as he came close, she slipped them back into a folio before he could look. 

“Aw, I thought you were drawing the game,” he said. “What's that stuff?”

“Homework.”

His brow furrowed. “You’re in school again? Why would you do that to yourself?”

Taako slid an arm around Magnus’s midsection.

“‘Cause she’s a nerd. What’cha studying, Lucy-lu?”

“I’m sitting in on Abbess Oriana’s lecture series on the nature of leadership. Cap’n’port thought it might be helpful? And, uh….” She looks down at the folio with a shy smile. “They have an architecture class that doesn’t have an engineering prereq?”

“Architecture?” Taako arched an eyebrow. “Doesn't that require  _ math _ ?”

“You're gonna build stuff?” asked Magnus. “Like, on the deck?”

“First,” she said, counting on her fingers, “it's less math than you'd think, at least for design, and second, maybe someday we'll be able to stop running.” She wrinkled her nose in a sweetly shy expression. “Maybe I could design a house for all of us. And you could…. Learn carpentry, I guess?”

Magnus laughed and Taako snorted. 

“More like I burn a bunch of spell slots Levitating stuff into place,” he said. 

“I mean, it could happen,” said Magnus. Then his eyes twinkled and something sly came into his smile. He leaned over to Taako and whispered something into the elf’s ear. Abruptly, Taako vanished, reappeared about an inch away from Lucretia, grabbed the folio out of her hands, then vanished again. 

“Taako! That's not fair, I'm not done! You can't look yet.”

“Mags totally can though.” He reappeared next to Magnus and pushed the folio into his hands. Magnus flipped through the sketches. 

“Wow, Luce, these are good. They look like real buildings.” But then he snickered as he pulled out one sheet and held it up. “This one looks like boobs, though.”

“They’re domes,” she said. “How old are you, Magnus?”

He shrugged, still grinning. “Fifty, I guess. Still look like boobs to me.”

Taako grabbed the floorplan sketch out of his hand.

“Uh yeah, am I gonna have to tell my sister that you’re pining over her again? Because that’s a lot of boobs.”

She fixed them both with a fierce stare, then stood and strode over, snatching back both the sketch and the whole floor plan. She’d been watching how the Abbess moved and talked: no one would ever treat  _ her _ like a little kid.

“They’re domes, not  _ boobs _ ,” she said, a bit peevishly. “Did you know that domes are the most efficient structural form known? They use less materials to build a larger stronger building and take less energy to heat. Plus they hold up better under large storms, like hurricanes, and earthquakes too.” She waved her plans at them for emphasis. “They allow better airflow and ventilation. Plus they have great acoustics….” She trailed off, looking a little sheepish, then shrugged. “I just like ‘em.”

Taako laughed again.

“Alright, nerd. Domes. Sweet. When we get somewhere we actually get to stay, you build us a big ol’ dome. ‘Til then, I’m off to get some tasty grub. Coming with, Mags?”

He looked at her and gave her a shy smile.

“Sorry I gave you a hard time about your project. It looks pretty cool.”

“When you get back, can we go out? I want to show you something?”

He nodded, kissed her forehead, then ran after Taako.

* * *

When he came into her apartment, it was piled with architectural sketches and small models of all kinds, including a sculpted cluster of white domes on a green felt surface. He picked up the drawings, not knowing quite how to interpret all of them; he touched the models, laughed nervously when a balcony fell off of one. She slapped his hand, but not unkindly. Then she led him from her apartment up onto the roof of the building.

It was a bright night, the stars dimmed by the brilliance of a pair of full moons.

“Here, this is what I wanted you to see,” she said, taking out a pair of binoculars. “You can just see the monastery from here.”

He put them to his eyes and looked where she was pointing: the monastery where Merle was sequestered, training, hopefully proving himself so they could recover the Light.

“I went out there a few weeks ago for a visit, and it was inspiring.”

Out beyond the city, he could see the ancient stone buildings of the monastery, the grey domes catching the light, reflecting it into the night. They almost seemed to shine in the distance.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to capture,” she said.

“It’s beautiful,” he replied. “I think you’ll get it, eventually, with all those drawings?” He squeezed her shoulder and she smiled. “Still kinda looks like boobs.”

“A little bit,” she replied. “Don’t ever tell anyone I said that, though.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fantasy IKEA? Maaaaaaaybe?


End file.
